


Forever

by reciprocityfic (orphan_account)



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Maksyl - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Maksyl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-09-01
Packaged: 2018-02-15 17:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2237802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/reciprocityfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maks and Meryl say I love you for the first time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever

**Author's Note:**

> I found this on my computer and realized I'd never posted it, so here you go.
> 
> Love and thanks to you all. xo.

He was  _pissed_.

Not that she could blame him, really.  They had been forced to stand in front of that awful woman and let her  _judge_ them.  And then she had criticized her and he had been rude back, because his first instinct was to defend and protect her.  It’s not like she could be mad at him.  She wasn’t.

And then on top of that, his brother had gotten voted off and they were in last place.

So, yeah.  He was pissed.  And he wasn’t hiding it, because he wore his heart on his sleeve, always.  She didn’t mind that.  It was one of the things that endeared him to her.

But as the press line wore on and on, she could feel him getting progressively more ticked off.  Which wasn’t good.  Because she feared that he would snap at some reporter who asked him the wrong question, and then the producers would find some way to turn him into the pre-season eighteen monster that they had convinced and created next week, she was sure of it.

So she stood by him, as his arm wrapped around her waist and his fingers nervously tapped against her stomach.  She tried to discreetly and soothingly pat his thigh as they moved from interview to interview.  When she saw the first opportunity for them to be done, she took it, grabbing his hand and leading him away from the journalists and cameras, around a few corners and to a dimly lit hallway, where no one seemed to be.

She pushed him against the wall, grabbing his other hand as well, staring up at him as he looked down at the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m pissed off,” he growled.

She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, I know.  Why?”

He lifted his eyes to hers, an incredulous look on his face.

“You don’t know why?”

“Just tell me, Maks.”

He gazed at her, let out a long breath.  Then the words started flowing.

“First of all, that woman shouldn’t even be here because she is a terrible person who misrepresents dance and all it should be.  Then she goes and makes that fucking rude comment to you, and takes two fucking points off for that?  An  _eight_  for that dance?  That’s  _bullshit_ , Meryl.  And then because I’m an idiot who can’t keep his fucking mouth shut, I say what I said.  It’s not like I didn’t mean it, or she didn’t deserve it, but now it’s the only thing everyone will remember.  Instead of focusing on you and how amazing you are, everyone will go on about how I talked back to our controversial guest judge, and how I’m just as disrespectful and immature as I’ve always been.  Fucking congratulations to the producers, they got the comment they were fishing for.  I guess after thirteen seasons, they really know how to crack me.”

She frowned, rubbing her thumbs in circles over the backs of his hands.

“Maks…”

But he had more to say.

“And sure, we knew going in that the samba was a little rough.  But of all things to criticize, she picks your fucking  _shoes_?  What the hell?”

“I know.”

“And then she wiped her  _face_  in my  _fucking shirt_.  Literally,  _what the fuck_?”

“I know.”

He sighed, dropping his head to his chest.

“I swear, if that woman takes our last week away from us…”

“Maks.”

“If  _I_ take our last week away from us.”

“Maks, look at me.”

He raised his head, and her heart broke when she saw the tears in his eyes.  She put her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her.  He snuggled his head against her shoulder.

“Maks,” she cooed.  “Baby, it’s not your fault.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” he mumbled.

“No.  I’m  _glad_  you did,” she told him, laying her face against his head, pressing her lips into his hair.  “She deserved it, and everyone supported you, I think.  I mean, did you see Len’s face when she was talking?  He looked super annoyed.  You spoke your mind, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Plus, you were speaking on behalf of a lot of people.  You shouldn’t be worried about this.”

“Yeah.  I guess. I guess you’re right.”

She ran her hands up and down his back.

“And then Val got eliminated and we’re at the bottom of the leaderboard, somehow.”

“It’ll work out,” she reassured him.

“I just really fucking hate what she said to you, you know?” he muttered, voiced muffled by her skin.  “Charles was right.  Your feet are beautiful.”

“Maks, we both know that I forget to point my toes all the time.  It’s, like…the bane of my dancing existence.”

“Who the fuck cares?”

She giggled slightly.

“Obviously Abby Lee Miller.”

He lifted his head off her and leaned back up against the wall, looping his arms around her hips and pulling her towards him.

“That’s not even the worst part, though.”

She brought her hands up to run down his neck, across his shoulders and over his biceps, resting on his elbows.

“What is?” she questioned.

“You loved that dance.  We loved that dance  _so much_.  And now it’s ruined.  Instead of being something we worked really hard on and poured ourselves into and made beautifully, it’s the dance where that woman said you had sickled feet and I insulted her.”

“Maks, I  _love_  that dance.  I’ll always love that dance.  I love it because you created it and we did it together and it was  _beautiful_.  I don’t care what anybody else thinks of it.   _Especially_ Abby Lee Miller.  Like you said, she shouldn’t even be here.  I’m not going to let her take that dance away from us.”

She wrapped her arms around his torso, and tucked her head under his chin.

“It’s ours and it’s gorgeous and I love every second of it.”

He was silent for a moment, tracing his fingers along her spine.

“I just wanted it to be perfect,” he finally said.  “For you.  You’re so talented and you’re so special. And I love you so much and you deserve something perfect.”

She froze against him, eyes flying open wide.  Her heart began to beat in double time.

“What did you just say?” she asked him.

“What do you mean?”

“Repeat what you just said to me.”

“What?  You deserve something perfect?”

“No.  Before that.”

“And I lo-“

He stopped suddenly, realizing what he had spoken.  She felt the beat of his heart pick up against her cheek.

“Say it, Maks,” she implored him.

He let out a shaky breath.

He whispered, “And I love you so much.”

They were both quiet, letting the words echo in their ears.  She lifted her head, and he stared down at her, his expression brighter than she had seen it all evening.

“You really love me?” she questioned softly.

The smile that lit up his face was breathtaking.  She saw tears shine in his eyes as he brought his hand up to cup her face.

“Of course I do.  Of course I love you.”

Her lips automatically curved up into a grin to match his.  She turned her head to kiss his palm before throwing her arms around his neck.

“Say it again,” she whispered in his ear.

She felt him smirk against her cheek, and then he began to speak into her skin.

“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you…”

He kept repeating those three words over and over again like a song, and she closed her eyes, breathing him in and listening.  Each utterance made her feel lighter.  Like she was floating.  Like she was flying.

He lifted her up off the ground, turned them around so that she was the one against the wall, held in place by his body pressed against hers.  He whispered the words once more before he lifted his head.  She brought her hands to his face, tangling one in his hair and trailing the other along his jaw, his stubble gently pricking the pads of her fingers.

He stared directly into her eyes.

“I am in love with you, Meryl.”

He spoke to her soul.  She used the hand in his hair to bring his face to hers.  Their noses were pressed together, their lips resting against the others’.  Not kissing, just resting.

“I’m in love with you, too,” she murmured.

He smiled against her, and then opened his mouth, taking her lips with his finally.  She pulled away from him only for a second.  His mouth moved to her neck.

“Also, even if we do get voted off next week, I don’t think it’s going to be our last week together.”

That statement made his lips pause.  He lifted his head, his smile shy, and a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“Oh?”

“I plan on having  _several_  more weeks with you, thank you very much.”

He laughed, nuzzling her cheek.

“A hundred more,” he told her.

“A thousand.”

“Forever.”

His  _forever_  might’ve scared her.  After all, she’d only known him a few months and this was  _crazy_ , honestly, and in only days everything was going to change.  They would have to work at this, diligently and wholly.

Instead, it warmed her.  Forever rattled around in her brain and seeped into her heart and it felt  _right_.  Nothing had ever felt so right.

“Forever,” she repeated.

He kissed her again.


End file.
